\n<\/p>\n
It was the end of the road for two-time <\/span>American Idol<\/em><\/a> contestant <\/span>Alyssa Raghu<\/a> on Monday night. After a shocking return to the show when she <\/span>hijacked her “best friend” <\/a>Julia Davo’s audition, Raghu found herself in Hollywood, singing her heart out to stay in the competition.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Judges <\/span>Katy Perry<\/a>, <\/span>Lionel Richie<\/a>, and <\/span>Luke Bryan<\/a> revealed that they struggled to decide between Raghu and contestant Kaibrienne, forcing them to do a sing-off to Lady Gaga’s “Shallow.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n “The reason it’s a sing-off is because we argued over you. So you have to be the tie breaker,” Perry explained to the two female artists.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n During rehearsals, Raghu noted, “I do have to be selfish in this moment. If one of us goes through, I want it to be me.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n And though Raghu gave a soulful rendition of the track off the <\/span>A Star Is Born <\/span><\/em>soundtrack, Kaibrienne blew the judges out of the water.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Bryan told Raghu, “We think you have been an amazing part of <\/span>Idol<\/span><\/em> and we think you’re gonna be able to go spread your wings without <\/span>Idol<\/span><\/em>. This is the end of the road for you, Raghu.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n After failing to progress to the Top 24, Raghu reflected on her time on the show.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n “This <\/span>American Idol<\/span><\/em> journey was a wonderful, wonderful road,” she said, tearing up. “For sure, a difficult decision for me to come to terms with, but I totally had the time of my life. This was wonderful for me.”<\/span><\/p>\n After the episode dropped on Monday night, Raghu took to <\/span>Instagram<\/a> to express her gratitude for the opportunity to appear on <\/span>Idol <\/span><\/em>a second time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n “What a wild ride! As an alumni with a plot twist, it\u2019s been an incredible journey,” she wrote. “Thank you so much to @americanidol for having me and showing my progression as an artist.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Raghu first competed on the ABC music competition in 2019, progressing all the way to the top 8. Her return to the show <\/span>proved to be controversial<\/a> with many online calling her out for stealing her friend’s audition and asking for a second shot on the show.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Bryan and Richie agreed to let her return, but Perry seemed against the idea, walking away from the judge’s table, saying, “I’ve gotta go.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n American Idol<\/span><\/em> airs Sundays and Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and later streams on Hulu.<\/span><\/p>\n RELATED CONTENT:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n